A Map of the World of Korea in 1402

 In 1402, in the second year of King Taejong, Korea's first world map was made. The name of this map, the oldest of the maps of Korea remaining today, is <Honilgangri Historic National Map>. At the bottom of the map, Kwon Geun wrote down the reason why he made the map of the Honil Gangri Station. 'The whole world is very wide. It is unknown how many millions of miles it is from China to the Dead Sea. Accordingly, a world map was created so that people could know the world without going outside. Knowing the distance and proximity from a map is very helpful in governing the country.' This single map was the world that Joseon saw in 1402. -Production process of the Honil Gangri History National Map If you look at the Honil Gangri History National Map, China occupies the largest part of the map. The Great Wall and the Yellow River are clearly drawn, and the place names are written in detail. This meant that China's share of the outside world as Joseon knew it was that big and important. The shape of Japan's land is similar to today, but the location is rotated about 90 degrees to the right, and it is drawn much smaller than that of Joseon. And Joseon is bigger than it really is. Through this, it can be seen that Joseon tried to show and confirm its status as an independent state on the world map. In this way, the size of the region shown on the map of the Honilgangri historical national road also showed the size of Joseon's interest and perception of the region. The places where "Walsang," "Kyoji," and "Imeup" are written are now Vietnam. The place marked "island" is today's Thailand, which was also called Sumla-guk, and the country marked "Beomguk" on the side is Burma. Kwon Geun also revealed the reason for making the map and the process of making the map. "<Sexual Gwangpido> and <Honilgangrido> were referred to by Kim Sa-hyung and Woo Jeong-seung Lee-mu, and the Swordsman Association made a map." In the first year of King Jeongjong's reign, Kim Sa-hyung went to the Ming Dynasty as an envoy, and at this time, he saved the Chinese map Seonggyo Gwangpido and Honilgangrido. However, many Joseon and Japan were omitted in Seonggyo Gwangpido. Currently, there is no Seonggyogwangpido, but if you look at Gwangyeodo, a similar form, Joseon is small and flat, and Japan is marked with only the name of the country. The Honilgangri Station National Map was completed as a map based on Seonggyo Gwangpido, referring to the map of Korea produced by Yihoe in the 2nd year of King Taejong, and the map of Japan obtained by Park Don-ji in the 1st year of King Taejong. The shape of the Korean Peninsula drawn on this map is almost the same as it is today except for the northern border, and it is not much different compared to Daedongyeojido, which was created 450 years later. At that time, astronomy in Joseon was considerable. There was Seoungwan, which was in charge of astronomical observation from Goryeo to the early Joseon Dynasty, and the "Map of the Heaven Train Field" created by Seoungwan scholars in the early Joseon Dynasty even depicts constellations that cannot be seen in Chinese astronomy. Thanks to such advanced astronomy, a geographer named Yi Hoe was able to make a world map in 1402. -In 1402, the map of the world's Honilgangri historical map viewed by Joseon shows more than 100 European and about 35 African places in detail. What's interesting is that the Mediterranean Sea is marked as a lake, not an ocean. Therefore, the Italian peninsula is surrounded by lakes, not by the sea. The first thing that stands out in the African continent is the large sea and the island in the middle that reads 'yellow sand'. The yellow dust mark probably marks the Sahara Desert. Although India has already interacted with us for a long time, this map only shows India as part of the continent, not the peninsula. The reason for this was that the map of the Honilgangri period was combined with the map of Arabia influenced by the Greek map, which drew India as part of the continent. Eventually, a world map made in Greece was handed down to Arabia, and it appeared as a map of the Honilgangri historical countries through China through the Silk Road to Joseon at the end of East Asia in 1402. The countries where Joseon directly exchanged at that time were the Ming Dynasty and Japan, and Yugu, Yeojin, and Java. Joseon regularly sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty after the first year of King Taejo. In addition, Joseon, which recognized the Muromachi shogunate as a representative government of Japan in the 4th year of King Taejong's reign and established formal diplomatic relations, demanded that Japan crack down on Japanese pirates and return the captured Koreans. Joseon also had active exchanges with the current Okinawa remains. In the first year of King Taejo's reign, Yu Gu-guk sent an envoy to invite himself to the kingdom of his subjects and ask for permission to trade. In Surisung, the capital of Yuguguk, 48 envoys were dispatched until the early Joseon Dynasty, and Joseon envoys went to Yugu. Yugu, which was the core of Southeast Asia's relay trade, brought and sold goods from the southern part of the country, including pepper and spices, to Joseon, which was an advanced Buddhist country, and received a blacksmith's book. At that time, Joseon also had exchanges with Southeast Asian countries, and now called Java was a representative exchange country. In the 6th year of King Taejong's reign, there is a record that the envoy of Java was attacked by Japanese pirates on his way to Joseon. Joseon's foreign policy varied from country to country. In other words, the Ming Dynasty tried to maintain a peaceful relationship by serving Yeojin, Japan, Yugu, and Southeast Asian countries using a policy of Gyorin. On the other hand, Joseon did not reject the Arabs who visited Joseon, although there was no official exchange with Arabia. According to the annals, on January 17, the 7th year of King Taejong's reign, there is a record that Hoehoein (Arabian) Road asked to become a Korean. Joseon accepted the members of the society to obtain information on Arabian calendar and metal processing techniques. The fact that Joseon actively accepted Arabian culture through Hoehoein can be inferred from the relatively large drawing of Arabia on the map of the Honilgangri Station National Road. However, unfortunately, the Honilgangri National Map is currently housed at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. It is not known exactly when and by what route this world map crossed to Japan, but it is believed to have crossed before and after the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592. This is because there is a record that Japan sent spies to obtain maps of Joseon in large quantities ahead of the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592. At that time, the most effective way to obtain information about other countries was through maps. This is because the map contained the most accurate and detailed information. Therefore, Joseon also made great efforts to obtain maps from China. As a result of these efforts, Joseon produced many maps and was considered an advanced country when it came to maps. Joseon was able to confirm its position as an independent country and organize information and perceptions of other worlds from China to Europe and Africa through the map of the history of the country. -------------------------------------------------------- <Naver Encyclopedia> A World Map prepared by Kim Sa-hyung, Lee Moo, and Lee Hoe in May 1402 (Taejong 2nd year of King Taejong's reign). The main text of the library of Ryukoku University was 5×4 ft. in 1402 (the 2nd year of King Taejong's reign of Joseon), including Kim Sa-hyung, Lee Moo, and Lee Hoi. This fact is told by Kwon Geun's Yangchonjip, and a manuscript of this map is housed in the library of Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. According to Volume 2 of Yangchonjip's Honil Gangridoji of the Old Emperor and other historical records, this map was made by Kim Sa-hyung in 1399 (1st year of King Jeongjo's reign) by revising the map of Seonggyo Gwangpido (128~92) by Lee Taek-min of the Won Dynasty. Instead of omitting much of the eastern part of Liaodong, Joseon was drawn there, and in 1401 (the 1st year of King Taejong's reign), Japan was drawn by referring to Iki Island and Tsushima Island on a new map of Japan brought by Park Don-ji. This map is considered to have been prepared based on the maps of that time, judging from the fact that the place name is the same as Yeodo, which was written by Joojubon in 1328. The map includes more than 100 European and 35 African places, but there is no Indian Peninsula, and the expression of the Nile River water source is similar to Jamal al-Din's district, which was brought to Beijing in 1267, which can be said to be influenced by Islamic science in Korea. This is almost the only world map produced by scholars of the Joseon Dynasty, which settled the knowledge of world geography in the early Joseon Dynasty, and it was the best and only world map until Matteo Ricci's "Gonyeomanjeon" entered Korea in the 17th century. The major drawback of this map is that it is not balanced with the continents of Europe and Africa, as well as Asia, by drawing China and Korea too large according to the Chinese worldview.